Friendship in Adolescence: Influence of Friends, How are Good Friendships, Types of Friendship in adolescence

Friendship in adolescence It becomes one of the fundamental pillars for young people who have just passed through puberty, given that adolescence is an era full of changes and uncertainty for most people. This period of people's life begins at approximately twelve years of age.

Adolescence extends until the individual enters the world of adults when starting work or entering a higher education institution. During this time, the focus of the person goes from being in the family (the reference group in childhood) to friends.

Therefore, for a teenager, friendships become one of the most important concerns of his life. The influence of a circle of friends can be extremely positive or lead to negative consequences, so it is necessary to pay attention to the friendships of the youngest to intervene in case it is necessary.

Influence of friends

Adolescence is a time full of changes and very complicated for most people. During this period the behaviors, beliefs and ways of seeing the world that were acquired during childhood no longer work. In addition, both the body and the mind are transformed at these ages due to the hormonal changes typical of puberty.

Because of this, the adolescent needs to acquire new points of reference to navigate through all these changes and, in general, the majority of young people in these ages find them in the figure of friends.

Because adolescents begin to be independent and seek some distancing from their parents, friendships can also become their new reference group.

In this sense, the difference between a good and a bad friendship is very marked: while good friends can lead the adolescent to give the best of himself, a bad influence usually brings very negative consequences.

How do friendships influence a teenager?

There are many ways in which a good friendship can add value to the life of a young man just entering puberty. Next we will see some of the most important ones.

Sense of belonging

Due to the uncertainty brought by the changes of adolescence, people who are going through this period of their lives need to feel part of something greater. A good group of friends can help the teen feel protected and valuable, as well as increase their self-confidence and independence.

Even some studies have shown that forming close friendships in adolescence can help prevent all kinds of emotional problems in adult life, especially those related to stress and anxiety.

Emotional Support

One of the biggest causes of estrangement between a teenager and his parents is that young people tend to perceive that adults are unable to understand them. Although this is often not true-since we have all had similar experiences-it is easier for a teenager to find support in his or her group of friends.

By seeing more people of the same age who are experiencing similar problems and emotions, the adolescent will feel more understood and validated in their emotions and experiences.

Help to understand your role in the world

During childhood, most people base their self-esteem and well-being on being able to do what their loved ones expect from them. However, in adolescence this changes, young people need to find their own place in society.

For this, a group of friends can be very beneficial, by showing the adolescent different ways of behaving, being and thinking and allowing him to choose among those that best suit his needs.

Experiences with the opposite sex

Often, childhood friendships are limited to people of the same sex. However, in the case of most people in adolescence, an interest in the opposite sex begins to appear, and groups of friends can serve as a platform for experimentation in order to develop the first couple relationships.

How are good friendships?

According to different studies, good friendships are characterized mainly by three elements: integrity, care and joy.

Integrity

The first quality required to form a good friendship has to do with the ability to trust the other person. In order for someone to be a good friend of ours, we need you to have some characteristics:

- Must be an honest person; that is, that he avoids lying and that he usually says what he thinks. In this way, when we give his word we can trust this.

- We must be able to count on the other person, as far as we know that he / she will help us in the moments in which we really need help.

- It has to be someone loyal, in the sense that you can keep a secret and do not criticize us behind our backs.

- The two people forming the friendship relationship should feel comfortable being vulnerable to each other. If you have difficulties to be yourself with a friend, the friendship formed will not be very deep or very durable.

Watch out

A good friend has to be able to offer support at times when we need it most. For this, some of the characteristics that the other person must possess are empathy, listening skills and the ability not to judge what the other person tells them.

Joy

Finally, it is practically impossible (and undesirable) to form a deep friendship with a person whose view of the world is essentially negative. Studies reveal that optimistic people with a sense of humor and with self-confidence form much longer and deeper friendships.

Types of friendship in adolescence

According to the researchers, there are mainly three types of friendship in adolescence: utility, pleasure and admiration.

Useful

They are friends based on what the other person can give us. Therefore, they are not especially durable: as soon as we can no longer extract value from the other person, they tend to end.

Pleasure

They are those in which the bond that unites us with another person has to do with an activity that we share with her. For example, it would be the kind of friendship that is formed by playing in a team or playing in a group with other people.

Of admiration

They are based on a true sense of respect and admiration for the other person, and are usually formed when we meet someone whose values ​​and views we share. They are the deepest and most durable of the three.

References

1. "Healthy Friendships in Developing Adolescents"in: Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved into: April 24, 2018 from the Department of Health & Human Services: hhs.gov.
2. "Friendships Throughout Adolescence"in: Marriage and Family Encyclopedia. Retrieved: April 24, 2018 from Marriage and Family Encyclopedia: family.jrank.org.
3. "Friendship"in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: April 24, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
4. "The 13 Essential Traits of Good Friends"in: Psychology Today. Retrieved on: April 24, 2018 from Psychology Today: psychologytoday.com.
5. "The 3 Kinds of Friendships"in: Marie Claire. Retrieved on: April 24, 2018 from Marie Claire: marieclaire.com.